Spanish Conversation · Level 3
87 words
Spanish word
oscuro
Pronunciation
IPA/osˈkuɾo/
Meaning
- adjectivedark
Example
La habitación está oscura.
The room is dark.
More examples
El cielo se puso oscuro.
The sky became dark.
Core concept
A street at night lit only by distant lights so details are hard to see.
Common phrases
habitación oscura
dark room
noche oscura
dark night
lugar oscuro
dark place
Similar words
sombrío: Low light with many shadows that creates a somber, heavy atmosphere.
apagado: Electric light is absent or cut, producing near-total darkness from switched-off lights.
tenue: Faint, weak light or color that barely defines shapes and textures.
tenebroso: Very dark and menacing, with an uncanny, frightening quality.
Definition in Spanish
Que carece de luz o tiene muy poca iluminación, de modo que no se ve con claridad.
Word origin
Derived from Latin obscūrus meaning 'dark, obscure', where the root obsc- implies something covered or hidden and so Spanish oscuro denotes lack of light.
Usage tips
- Some English collocations with 'dark' translate differently in Spanish, for example 'dark humor' is humor negro rather than humor oscuro.